Abstinence educator Pam Stenzel speaks with teens last spring in St. Veronica School, Howell. Stenzel is returning to the Diocese March 8-10. Photo courtesy of Cristina Imparato

Noted author and abstinence educator Pam Stenzel is returning to the area to present “Nobody Told Me!” to students in eighth grade through high school, parents, religious education leaders and catechists, and youth ministers across the Diocese.

During the 90-minute presentation, Stenzel will use her pregnancy counselling experience, as well as her personal story, to help educate teens about the true meaning of sexuality and the consequences of sexual activity outside of marriage.

To stand on stage and look out over a crowd of nearly 700 people, teens and their adult leaders – and know they have come together to celebrate and grow in our Catholic faith – was nothing less than inspiring.More ...Friday, February 16, 2018

The theme of our conference today has been “Fearless 365.” It’s been pointed out that the words “do not be afraid” appear in the Bible 365 times. That’s an interesting coincidence since there are 365 days in the year. But what does it mean to be “fearless?” To know the answer, to be “fearless,” you have to know what “fear” is.

Fear is a human feeling, a human emotion --- like happiness or joy, sadness or sorrow, anger or frustration, calm or peacefulness --- that occurs in response to something either outside of yourself or inside. That “something” can be real or imagined. It can be reasonable or fantasy. At some point in life everyone experiences “fear:” fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, for example. Fear of failure, fear of the future, fear of relationships or loneliness.

“It’s all how you look at the words. You can be fearless or you can fear less.”

Those were the words of Father Martin O’Reilly, diocesan youth chaplain, to the almost 700 teens in grades eight through 12, youth ministry leaders, men and women religious and others who converged Feb. 10 on Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, for the 2018 Diocesan Youth Conference.

Joey Hagan is no stranger to service, which is why when temperatures across the state plummeted to dangerous levels earlier this month, the Red Bank Catholic High School graduate’s first thought was helping others.

“My parents have raised me to keep those less fortunate in mind and to give back when I can; it just feels like the right thing to do,” he said.

It’s not too late to register for the 2018 Diocesan Youth Conference that is taking place Feb. 10 at Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft. The 2018 DYC theme, “Fearless 365,” will address how to be free from fear in the face of living and sharing one’s faith on a daily basis.

WASHINGTON – A religious brother, a campus ministry director and a youth minister who is a wife and new mother have been named to represent the United States as young adult delegates at a pre-synod gathering in Rome in March.More ...Friday, January 26, 2018

CHICAGO • More than 8,000 people from around the country gathered in Chicago in early January to gain tools on the topic of evangelization.

Hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, known as FOCUS, “SLS18: Inspire & Equip” welcomed college students, lay ministers, parishioners, seminarians, men and women religious, and others who minister in the wider Church to hone evangelization skills through training and practice sessions.

World Youth Day may not be until January of next year, but planning is already underway in the Diocese of Trenton.

On Jan. 11, the diocesan Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries presented an hour-long webinar for those interested in attending World Youth Day 2019, which will run from Jan. 22-27 in Panama City, Panama.

LINTHICUM, Md. – It's no secret that for years, teenagers and young adults have been leaving the Catholic Church, putting aside organized religion for a more personal spirituality, another faith tradition or no faith at all.

A new study by St. Mary's Press looks at the reasons for such religious disaffiliation, asking teenagers and young adults ages 15 to 25 a basic question: Why did you leave the Church?

When then-eighth grader Jacqueline Wenzel joined her Girl Scout Troop 23267 walking in the Miss America Pageant “Show Us Your Shoes” parade, she couldn’t help but notice something striking: while contestants were driven down the Atlantic City boardwalk with shoes decorated to reflect their home state, they were passing both spectators and those living in extreme poverty.More ...Thursday, January 11, 2018

After watching, “A Christmas Carol” with her family, 15-year-old Angela Gibilisco, wanted to take the story and give it a religious twist.

“It was during the scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Past that I first imagined an angel appearing to a man similar to Scrooge," said Gibilisco, member of the youth ministry in St. Catherine Laboure Parish, Middletown.

The themes emerge predictably. When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, we gravitate toward the biggies: get healthy, get organized, get a life. We vow to travel more, read more, save more and volunteer more. We conjure visions of the expansive, to live life to the fullest.More ...Thursday, January 4, 2018

Registration is now open for the eighth annual Faith and Reason Summer Program set for June 10-15 and hosted at St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa. The one-week seminar is designed specifically for advanced high school and first-year college students who are curious about religion.More ...Thursday, January 4, 2018

WASHINGTON • A panel discussion last year on the challenges faced by refugees didn’t sit well with a freshman at the Jesuit-run College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

“The stories that I heard reminded me that when we picture refugees, we falsely imagine a mass of people hoping to hoard into our country and disturb our system,” Riley Benner wrote in a class paper.More ...Thursday, January 4, 2018